Why local councils need to ditch ‘quick fix’ technology to better serve the community

The effects of COVID-19 meant many local councils needed a new approach to how they engage with their citizens. While many councils felt ill-equipped for the widespread changes, addressing the disruption of the pandemic has presented an opportunity to deliver more efficient services for the community’s benefit.

A report from KPMG asserts that some councils are executing “quick fix” strategies by focusing solely on digitising the front-end customer experience. Local councils typically have arduous processes and guidelines when employing new IT systems, but snap lockdowns and constant changes to public health guidelines meant some compliance checks have likely been neglected while getting digital services up and running. 

Councils are now reviewing these systems to check they are compliant and sustainable. This “quick fix” has expanded into an opportunity for a more strategic approach to digitalisation that will ultimately lead to better service for the community. The KPMG report goes on to state that an effective digital transformation plan also needs to include a substantial “middle and back-office transformation.”

However, many local councils have an established culture and change is not often enthusiastically embraced, so there is often a tendency to do what has been done in the past and rely on legacy solutions. 

There can also be a reluctance to move forward with new digital technologies as there is a perception of risk that new systems and processes may not deliver a return on investment. For local councils, budgets can be limited so they’re looking to deliver better experiences for their citizens with the same or less budget. 

Councils need a re-programming of the culture to encourage change across the organisation. Council CIOs and IT leaders need a simple solution that will easily demonstrate the benefits of digital transformation in the middle and back office procedures and work-flows, to all other stakeholders. 

Smartsheet, a platform leveraged by government agencies worldwide, allows local councils to start digitising key processes immediately, delivering a cost-effective and efficient change, securely. It allows the local council to demonstrate the benefit of digital tools, while improving community engagement and governance.

The uptake of a collaborative work management platform like Smartsheet can deliver value far beyond the scope of the pandemic. The Australian federal government Digital Transformation Agency has pledged to explore practical cross-organisational structures that focus on facilitating collaboration across agency and policy boundaries. 

Smartsheet can help staff across councils to engage in cross-collaboration around their challenges and how they solved them. This will help to create a continuous cycle of improvement to deliver better services for citizens. 

Smartsheet can also improve transactional workloads, increasing efficiency and productivity across the board. This will lead to a flow on effect of easier interactions for citizens, providing true 24/7 access, and greater cost savings.

For example, Smartsheet offers a streamlined and highly secure way to store and manage data as local councils are now responsible for managing and protecting an enormous amount of citizen data, which will only continue to grow as digitisation continues. 

While digitising legacy systems and offline work can take a toll on productivity, investing in the right collaborative work management platform will help mobilise and transform local councils from a place of reactive practices to proactive workplaces.

With Smartsheet – the enterprise platform for dynamic work – you can make the move to more efficient project management today with our 30-day free trial that comes with access to many pre-structured and customisable templates. Streamline your projects by following these best practices to increase consistency, from project initiation to completion.